Lamentations 1

Lamentations 1New International Version (NIV)

1 [a]How deserted lies the city,once so full of people!How like a widow is she,who once was great among the nations!She who was queen among the provinceshas now become a slave.

2 Bitterly she weeps at night,tears are on her cheeks.Among all her loversthere is no one to comfort her.All her friends have betrayed her;they have become her enemies.

3 After affliction and harsh labor,Judah has gone into exile.She dwells among the nations;she finds no resting place.All who pursue her have overtaken herin the midst of her distress.

4 The roads to Zion mourn,for no one comes to her appointed festivals.All her gateways are desolate,her priests groan,her young women grieve,and she is in bitter anguish.

5 Her foes have become her masters;her enemies are at ease.The Lord has brought her griefbecause of her many sins.Her children have gone into exile,captive before the foe.

6 All the splendor has departedfrom Daughter Zion.Her princes are like deerthat find no pasture;in weakness they have fledbefore the pursuer.

7 In the days of her affliction and wanderingJerusalem remembers all the treasuresthat were hers in days of old.When her people fell into enemy hands,there was no one to help her.Her enemies looked at herand laughed at her destruction.

8 Jerusalem has sinned greatlyand so has become unclean.All who honored her despise her,for they have all seen her naked;she herself groansand turns away.

9 Her filthiness clung to her skirts;she did not consider her future.Her fall was astounding;there was none to comfort her.“Look, Lord, on my affliction,for the enemy has triumphed.”

10 The enemy laid handson all her treasures;she saw pagan nationsenter her sanctuary—those you had forbiddento enter your assembly.

11 All her people groanas they search for bread;they barter their treasures for foodto keep themselves alive.“Look, Lord, and consider,for I am despised.”

12 “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?Look around and see.Is any suffering like my sufferingthat was inflicted on me,that the Lord brought on mein the day of his fierce anger?

13 “From on high he sent fire,sent it down into my bones.He spread a net for my feetand turned me back.He made me desolate,faint all the day long.

14 “My sins have been bound into a yoke[b];by his hands they were woven together.They have been hung on my neck,and the Lord has sapped my strength.He has given me into the handsof those I cannot withstand.

15 “The Lord has rejectedall the warriors in my midst;he has summoned an army against meto[c] crush my young men.In his winepress the Lord has trampledVirgin Daughter Judah.

16 “This is why I weepand my eyes overflow with tears.No one is near to comfort me,no one to restore my spirit.My children are destitutebecause the enemy has prevailed.”

17 Zion stretches out her hands,but there is no one to comfort her.The Lord has decreed for Jacobthat his neighbors become his foes;Jerusalem has becomean unclean thing among them.

18 “The Lord is righteous,yet I rebelled against his command.Listen, all you peoples;look on my suffering.My young men and young womenhave gone into exile.

19 “I called to my alliesbut they betrayed me.My priests and my eldersperished in the citywhile they searched for foodto keep themselves alive.

20 “See, Lord, how distressed I am!I am in torment within,and in my heart I am disturbed,for I have been most rebellious.Outside, the sword bereaves;inside, there is only death.

21 “People have heard my groaning,but there is no one to comfort me.All my enemies have heard of my distress;they rejoice at what you have done.May you bring the day you have announcedso they may become like me.

22 “Let all their wickedness come before you;deal with themas you have dealt with mebecause of all my sins.My groans are manyand my heart is faint.”

Footnotes:

Lamentations 1:1This chapter is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

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